Louisville coach’s memories of coaching with, against Dawn Staley go beyond basketball
Dawn Staley and Jeff Walz have only coached against one another once during their respective tenures at South Carolina and Louisville.
Staley’s Gamecocks got the better of Walz’s Cardinals 83-59 in a top-five matchup during the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge on Nov. 27, 2016. Walz’s two oldest children, who live in Mount Pleasant, made the trip to Springfield, Massachusetts to watch the contest.
What stood out most to Walz wasn’t Alaina Coates’ double-double, but her coach’s kindness.
“Dawn was kind enough to let them fly back home with their team on their charter,” the Cardinals’ coach said.
The nearly six-year-old moment sticks with Walz to this day as he readies his team for another matchup with South Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday at Target Center in Minneapolis.
The relationship between the two coaches goes back even further when they were part of the U18 USA team in 2014. Staley was the head coach, with Walz and Michigan head coach Kim Arico Barnes as assistants. Together, they won the FIBA Americas Championship by beating Canada 104-74. Gamecock great and current Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson was on the team and was named tournament MVP.
A year later, the then-19 group won another gold medal with Wilson being named the MVP again in Russia after posting a 7-0 record. The team’s perfect tournament concluded with a 78-70 win over the host country. In that experience, too, the impression Staley left on Walz had more to do with her personality than her profession.
“Dawn was outstanding,” Walz said. “The basketball part aside, I was able to take my son with us when we went to Russia, and she was fantastic with that.
“The unique thing about our game, I think, is the friendships that are built among some coaches off the court, and then obviously when you’re competing against each other, you’re both trying to win.”
Indeed, winning will be the goal when the Cardinals and Gamecocks take the court Friday evening for a chance to reach Sunday’s national championship game. The camaraderie between the two coaches will always be there, but the competitive side will take precedence.
“I like how he’s wired,” Staley said of Walz. “He’s a super competitor, great basketball mind, great motivator. I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing Louisville because there are only four teams standing, and we’re very, very lucky to be matched up with each other. So I’m looking forward to an exciting semifinals. May the best team win.”
South Carolina vs Louisville: What time, channel
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (33-2) vs. No. 1 Louisville Cardinals (29-4)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: ESPN
